Fabolous – Soul Tape 3 [Plus Review]

For Christmas, Fabolous gave his fans and haters a gift that had no wrapping paper, but was filled with 12 tracks of rapping — Soul Tape 3. This time around he is performing at MSG, a good place for the last mixtape of the Soul Tape series. The compilation features assists from the likes of Young Jeezy, Jadakiss, and Mack Wilds to name a few. Loso’s Soul Tape 3 is one that references different aspects of life, love, and the rap game. As to be expected, not all of those references may be easy to catch, so be prepared to do some rewinding.

Rewinding is exactly what Fab did on the first track “Everything Was The Same,” featuring Stacy Barthe. The track clocks in at around three minutes in which he uses to chronicle certain aspects of his past, like how he truly came up in the rap game and the environment in the 90s. Just like on “Pain,” (Soul Tape) and “Transformation,” (Soul Tape 2) he starts off 3 with, “I’m old enough to know better, young enough to not give a f***k, Rather hold my high and die then live and duck.” Fab then presents some cautionary bars of advice, followed by a reminiscent anecdote, then he spits some bars that are meant to knock down some misconceptions.

As the name implies, in “Sacrifices,” Fab discusses sacrifices people may or may not choose to make in certain situations. The first scenario is the guy who has to start selling drugs to support his family; the second has to do with a deadbeat dad and the sacrifices he won’t make for his son and the subsequent sacrifices the mother has to make in turn.

Juxtaposed with the theme of sacrifice in “Playa,” Fabolous raps about the movements of someone who is monetarily sound while at the same time reminding listeners’ and playas that it is important to stay conscious of those who don’t have money to splurge. The story told here is important, and its ending is a cunning one just like money can be.

With the fourth track “The Get Back,” the mood of Soul Tape 3 slightly changes. In the song, Loso raps about the rap game. He talks about his approach and how it differs from others. He also makes s reference to Kendrick Lamar’s “King of New York” claim and the responses it caused. This track is a “who want it more thing.”

The fifth track brings in the first features on the tape — Meek Mill and Mike Davis. “Foreigners” is certainly a club banger and bound to be requested on the radio by many. Why? Because it’s about cars and the beat is fire. Y’all should know how that goes by now.

“The Hope,” featuring Jadakiss, is simply a song with two great rappers spitting on a good beat; it’s your job to find where the hope is.

“You Know," featuring Young Jeezy is a song where both rappers make sure listeners and non-listeners alike know what their about.

Songs eight through 11 explore the many dynamics of “relationships.” In “Cuffin Season,” Fab discusses the concept of people, in this case, females that want to be booed up during the winter, but on their own doing their thing when it’s a hot again. It’s an interesting listen. “Thim Slick,” featuring Jeremih, has him rapping about a woman whose figure among other things went unnoticed for a quick minute. By the way, he paints the story, one can conclude that she won’t go unnoticed again. “Lay Down,” featuring Ryan Leslie, takes it from unnoticed to unmatched. Listeners’ may find that the person being rapped about has consumed his mind, heart, and plenty of rhymes. Track 10, “Situationships,” featuring Mack Wilds and Tiara Thomas, talks about what happens when that consumption stops and morphs into something disruptive. How strong emotions can turn into careful motions.

“Young OG” is the last track on the compilation and tells listeners why he’s a young OG; make sure to listen and if you agree.

Soul Tape 3 lives up to the hype and FA-BO-LO-US remains consistent.